31 thoughts on “england”

Do you mean 'England' or the UK? Lots of interesting places to see all over the country. The Pennine Way walkway is supposed to be good, although i haven't done it.

Reply from Rob:

At the moment the plan is to go to England from Belgium. But a friend at work the other day mentioned that there are also ferries from Belgium to Scotland…depending on time I might take a ferry to Scotland and then bike down to London. It might take me out of the 14degrees I am supposed to keep within, but hey, I really should get in touch with my roots!

If you need a comfy bed in London for a night or two, get in touch. You can stay here with us (South-East London) or at my recording studio (in Wapping). I'll even buy you dinner at Il Bordello (best Italian in London in my opinion).

Anyway, good luck beating those dogs off and keeping those feet ice free. Inspiring and wonderful.

I spent three years in Brighton, East Sussex. I had a girl in Flanders Belgium back then and had to virtually commute to the Continental Europe, tried a range of Channel crossing methods. The cheapest was flying, in fact. Load up your panniers with French cheese, wine and other goodies in Calais, catch Le Shuttle (Eurostar won't let ya get on board with a full size bike, pity yours is not a Brompton) or a ferry (Calais,France-Dover,UK, Hoek Van Holland,the Netherlands-Harwich/Ramsgate England or Oostende,Belgium-Dover,UK and so on). I guess you will be there in March or something. Go along the coast perhaps a detour in Canterbury. Anyway you should enjoy the Kent-Sussex coast line, there are beautiful not-too-hard-to-ride hills and cliffs (infamous Seven Sisters) etc. There are so many historic villages like Rye and yeah if you got time try Eastbourne-Lewes-Brighton bits. Lewes is a pretty middle age town with a castle in the middle of the town. I got so much to tell you but I think you are still very far away from UK and spring time he hehe.

Thanks for sharing your inspiring blog. I stumbled upon it when buying my HP Speedmachine last year, and felt a certain affinity since I also worked in Japan (96-98 on JET)and, having worked in rural China for three years too (where I met my fiancee), share your ideas about a common humanity.

Over the years, I've toured a lot in my native UK, and would definitely recommend the Western Isles (especially Mull) if you're heading to Scotland after some wilderness. Free camping is quite possible there (can be tricky in the rest of the UK), as long as you can handle the midges in the summer – best avoided altogether in the winter. There is an efficient ferry service (www.calmac.co.uk) between the islands that starts out from various points on the west coast.

Most of the UK is excellent for cycling with plenty of minor roads, although don't let our lack of major mountains fool you into thinking everything is pancake flat – a granny gear is still useful!

If you wind up near northern Hampshire (100k south east of London) you're welcome to stay if I'm around.

SpeedMachineTim, thank you for your comment! Great to hear from fellow recumbent riders. I would be super keen to hear your stories from living in China. I will be sure to get in contact as I near England!

About

14degrees Off the Beaten Track is my (Rob Thomson's) online home. I live in Sapporo City, which is in Hokkaido, Japan's northern-most island. I am a guy with a day-job as a professor at Hokusei Gakuen University, but I like to explore new places and share the experience. I still haven't found the bottom of Hokkaido's enchanting depths. Cycle touring and backcountry ski touring are what keep me occupied here these days on my days off. Previously I cycled from Japan to Switzerland via Central Asia, and I hold the Guinness World Record for the Longest Journey by Skateboard (12,159km).